GSB 635 Association Management
This unit is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of management of associations or nonprofit organisations. The material covered in this unit should not present you with management theory that you have never encountered before. What this unit attempts to do is to present relevant management theory and practices as they apply in the nonprofit sector, and to provide you with the opportunity to explore the differences between management styles in commercial and nonprofit organisations.The approach is very much applied rather than theoretical. There are no essays or exams. Assessment is project based. Students are required to negotiate terms of reference for their project by Week 2, submit a Project Report in Week 9 and a Final Report in Week 15 (the Exam week). Interaction and discussion with the coordinator and amongst the students is encouraged.
GSB 635 is not a difficult unit but it does assume basic knowledge of management theory and familiarity with the nonprofit sector. Given the nature of the assessment and the amount of reading required, it is advisable for students not to attempt to do another unit simultaneously.
In order to obtain maximum benefit from this unit and to facilitate the assessment process, it is advisable for you to be either currently, or previously, employed (in a voluntary or paid capacity) in a nonprofit organisation. You could be a CEO, a Board member, a staff person, a volunteer or an active member.
Feedback from students has been very positive. They enjoy the immediacy of being able to apply their studies to the workplace through the project based assessment. Interacting and exchanging ideas with other students in the same unit is also a plus for distance students.